"We were forced to take this action in defense of our contracts," said General Chairman Bob Linsey. "Specifically, the Carrier has used management officials to perform the work of bargaining unit employees, namely locomotive engineers and conductors. In defiance of the union's warnings, the Carrier has also recently ignored longstanding crew consist agreements and operated single-person operations in an effort to eliminate Trainmen. To make matters worse, it's done this after serving bargaining proposals to eliminate the restrictions, an outright admission that it presently has no right to operate this way."

According to the W&LER website, they are the largest railroad based in Ohioand among the largest regional railroads in the Country. The service area is concentrated in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania, includes 840 miles of track running from Toledo to Hagerstown, Maryland.